Workplace Tardiness Is Costlier Than You Think

Posted April 8th, 2016

Most employees behave within workplace norms. They arrive on time, stay for their whole shift, and don’t call in sick unless necessary. However, every company has those handful of employees who are habitually late or have some excuse why they have to leave early. You may try to ignore this behavior, but it is something that you need to address immediately, because it is costlier than you may think.

Tardiness Costs Businesses Billions

Companies lose over three billion a year due to tardy employees. People who are late affect business operations because they interrupt company workflow. Certain tasks can’t be started or completed because people are waiting for the late employee to do their job. People who are late or leave early aren’t as productive, so work tends to pile up, which can upset customers.

Tardiness Causes Retention Issues

Tardiness can also lead to negative feelings within an organization, especially if this behavior is ignored. Good employees may become frustrated because they constantly have to do the work of people who can’t be bothered to show up on time. And if this trend continues, those good employees will leave your company for an organization that stresses the importance of timeliness and team work.

Tardiness Causes Human Resource Issues

Even if your company tolerates tardy behavior, employees who are often late or leave early create extra work for the Human Resource and payroll departments. Absence management is a costly company endeavor, and figuring out the correct pay for tardy employees means more effort for the people who have to generate employee paychecks.

Tardiness Causes Employee/Management Issues

You may think that tolerating tardy behavior makes you look like a cool, laid back manager, but most employees won’t see it that way. They will see your tolerance as favoritism and they will lose respect for you and your management abilities. Employees who don’t trust or respect their managers won’t work to the best of their abilities and this lack of productivity creates tension in the workplace.

In order to gain the respect of your team, increase productivity and save money, you need to deal with all absence management issues, including tardiness. This may mean that you have to inform the employee if they can’t come to work on time they will need to be let go. While you may lose one employee, the overall impact will be a better work environment and more productive staff.

If you are having issues finding quality employees for your organization, then contact us at Job Store Staffing. Our experts will help you find experienced candidates who will fit well with your company culture and exhibit an excellent work ethic.